State audit shows lingering issues for the city of Opelousas

OPELOUSAS, La. (KLFY)- The city of Opelousas was red-flagged during a state audit.

The audit continues to show lingering problems for the city..

Auditors found the city has issues that need to be addressed immediately.

The biggest were:

• City employees using manual timesheets that do not agree to the electronic timekeeping system implemented by the city.

• The city's police department's failure to obtain purchase orders as required by the purchasing policy.

Mayor Julius Alsandor says, "I can sit here and speak to you and say the issues with the police department and throughout the city have been corrected."

Other issues include:

• The city paying their bills late resulting in late fees.

• A lack of cash flow, resulting in the city not having enough money in the bank to cover expenses.

"We are changing some our accounting. The business practices we put in place have allowed us to diminish the many infractions we had before," explains Alsandor.

Last year, the auditors found 33 issues.  

Now, they only have 10 issues to address.

Mayor Alsandor says with a plan and new protocols in place, it will take some time to see the changes being made.

He says going forward he is confident that the lingering issues will be resolved, and all matters will be handled accordingly.

Alsandor continues, “We've addressed and put some protocols and safeguards in place where we don’t have to revisit those things again. I am confident the next audit will not have these issues in it.”